Ajax boss John Heitinga said Chelsea were one of the ‘better teams’ in the Champions League after his side were thrashed at Stamford Bridge.
In yet another high-scoring game in this year’s Champions League, Chelsea thumped Ajax 5-1 to climb to 11th in the 36-team table.
Enzo Maresca made a staggering ten changes from the side that beat Nottingham Forest at the weekend but the result was never truly in doubt from the moment Kenneth Taylor was sent off for Ajax inside 20 minutes.
Marc Guiu put Chelsea ahead from the resulting free-kick before Moises Caicedo continued his superb form with his team’s second.
Former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst pulled a goal back for the visitors before Enzo Fernandez and Estevao Willian scored penalties on the stroke of half-time.
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Tyrique George added Chelsea’s fifth after the break as the Blues became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenage scorers.
Club World Cup winners Chelsea are currently fifth in the Premier League and mid-table in the Champions League but Ajax manager Heitinga rates them as one of the ‘better teams’ in Europe.
‘This is one of the better teams, not only in the Premier League but I think also in the Champions League,’ the former Netherlands defender said. ‘It was a tough one for us to take, but it is how it is.
‘The game plan was working and I think it was hard for them to break the lines. We even had one offensive transition with Mika Godts. It was stable.
‘Then the red card happened and I think they scored two goals from the penalty spot, then two goals were deflected. I cannot blame the players, they were working really hard.
‘We came back into the game, it was 2-1. Then you have to hope that you can bring it into half-time and then go again, but we conceded the fifth goal.
‘The only thing that I have say to the players is that I have a lot of respect for the willingness that they showed on the pitch, working for each other.’
Ajax are bottom of the Champions League group phase, having lost their opening three games while scoring one goal and conceding 11.
‘We need to be more stable,’ added Heitinga, who took over at Ajax in the summer. ‘It’s still going up and down, which is a little bit where the club is at the moment.
‘We’re working really hard every day and you can see the improvement. It was only 15 minutes but you could see the improvements already there.
‘Now we have to take the good things into our next match and the things we can do better, we have to learn from that.’
Chelsea boss Maresca, meanwhile, was delighted with the victory – especially given the number of young players out on the pitch – but admitted the red card ‘changed the game’.
‘We know how difficult it is when we get a red card,’ the Stamford Bridge manager said.
‘We started well with 10 changes… it’s a very demanding season so we need to rotate because it’s complicated for the ones who play all the games.
‘We know when you concede a red card with ten minutes to go it’s OK but when it’s more than an hour to play it’s difficult for everyone.
‘We trust a lot the younger players. The strategy of the club. Not only the ones we buy but the ones from the academy.
‘We could have scored more goals – but we tried to manage the game. On Saturday we have Sunderland here. They’re physically strong so we need to be ready.’
Newly-promoted Sunderland have only lost two of their opening eight league games ahead of their trip to west London this weekend.
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